The Terrible Twos Have Arrived

My baby is officially a toddler.

Ok, Fine. Maybe he’s been a toddler for a while now. Supposedly once they start walking they’re a “toddler,” but I was still referring to him as the “baby.”

While he is the youngest and he’ll always be my baby, he has the emotions and attitude of a toddler.

This little guy was born smiling. He was always happy. He made everyone in his wake feel great about themselves because he smiled at them. (We were nice enough to refrain from telling people he smiled that big at everyone.) But now things have changed.

I kept saying, “He’s teething,” or, “He’s going through some growing pains.” It’s gone on too long to be either of those. He’s officially entered the terrible twos.

 

And although he’s not quite two yet, I think we can all agree, the age doesn’t matter. It’s more of a frame of mind.

He understands the world around him better and he notices when he doesn’t get what he wants. He throws tantrums.

My daughter gets upset, she cries and screams, sure. Her issue is that she’s three going on thirteen. 

But when my son gets upset, he has the type of tantrums parents dread. He gets mad and throws whatever is close by. He grabs his sister’s hair for sport. And if the situation calls for it, he throws himself on the floor and smacks his arms on it as hard as he can. I would be horrified if I wasn’t so busy keeping myself from laughing. If my girl caught me smirking, then she would start imitating him. We don’t need that!

Our morning routine generally involves breakfast, a movie (lately it’s been Cinderella-yawn), then we go outside until lunchtime. That is, if he makes it that long.

You see, he loves nothing more than being outside.

But if I prevent him from going off the cliff in our backyard, he screams.

If I keep him from going in the parking lot, he freaks.

There are plenty of houses around and those screams are loud, especially at 9 am.

When he doesn’t calm down, our outside session is done. And it’s back inside, with an especially dramatic screaming fit.

I’ve gotta say, my favorite time of day is when both kids are crying. One starts for whatever reason, and the other joins so they can fight each other for mama’s attention. Literally. They push and shove each other until I get smacked in the backlash. Best part of my day.

Time outs work for the girl, but the boy is still learning. He doesn’t understand “stay in the time out chair.” Or, maybe he does, he’s just workin’ it.

Whatever the case may be, I now have two crazy toddlers on my hands and there are only a few options for me.

1. Let them win. I can let them take complete control of any mental capacity I have left, and go insane.

2. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. I can give in and cry and scream right along with them. Maybe throw a few swings and pull some hair out too (my own, of course).

3. Laugh and take pictures. I’m not sure which of my options I’ve listed is the healthiest, but this one appeals to me the most.

I think this phase has been a long time coming, I’m just now finally coming to grips with it.

I appreciate his new-found independence and strong willed personality, but I already miss my sweet boy.

How do you deal with tantrums? I’m always open to new ideas!

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